ABU DHABI Ñ The United States has decided to delay and downsize a major
military exercise in Qatar in what observers see as a slowdown in the war effort caused by the labor dispute at West Coast ports and diplomatic efforts at the UN.
The postponement of the exercise comes as an intelligence alert has
warned of plans to attack Western naval ships in the Persian Gulf.
Japanese
naval chief Adm. Toru Ishikawa said on Tuesday that his forces deployed in
the Arabian Sea have been placed on high alert in wake of an incident on
late Sunday in which a high-speed boat raced toward a Greek warship. The
Greek ship fired warning shots and the fast naval craft fled, Middle East Newsline reported.
Officials said U.S. Central Command has postponed the Internal Look
exercise for about a month.
The exercise was to have tested the mobility of
Central Command headquarters deployed in the Persian Gulf. At least 600
members of Central Command, based in Tampa, Fla., were to have been sent for
the November maneuvers.
Instead, officials said, Internal Look will take place sometime in
December. The officials blamed delays in the delivery of military equipment
to the Gulf.
Central Command chief Gen. Tommy Franks told a news conference in Cairo
that Internal Look would take place either in mid-November or mid-December.
Franks said his six-day tour of the Middle East was meant to plan exercises
in the region over the next two months.
U.S. officials told the Washington Post on Wednesday that the delay in
the Qatari exercise could stem from a Pentagon plan to slow down military
deployment to gain time for diplomatic efforts at the United Nations
Security Council. The officials said Washington's priority would be to send
heavy equipment rather than troops to the Persian Gulf region.
A labor dispute at West Coast ports of the United States has also
slowed down deliveries of military equipment to the Gulf region.
They said the aftermath of the strike has sparked a run by commercial
exporters that has grabbed much of the available shipping for deliveries in
time for the Christmas holiday season.
Gen. Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, refused
to provide information on Internal Look. But he said the exercise schedule
in the Persian Gulf has not been significantly delayed.
"They are not slipping, as far as I know," Myers said in a Defense
Department briefing on Tuesday.
The United States also plans to reduce the length of the exercise,
officials said. The exercise was originally scheduled for three weeks. The
new plan calls for a one-week exercise.
Internal Look will take place at Al Udeid air force base near Doha.
Qatari officials said the base contains 4,000 troops and about 40 U.S.
fighter-jets and refueling planes.
